From the category archives:

Debt

Monetary Myopia: Why Soaking the Rich Won’t Solve the Debt Crisis

August 14, 2011

Podcast: Download (22.9MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Free Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, August 16th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern). The topic is “True Asset and Wealth Optimization.” You’ll learn how to choose the right investments for liquidity, safety, rate of return and tax benefits.

Click Here to Register Now

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

The Bush Tax Cuts As a Bargaining Chip

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the national debt, the debt limit debate and the likely solutions. But there are some facts that must be considered in order to see the big picture.

For instance, the Congressional Budget Office is using their March 2011 baseline rather than the January 2011 baseline when they assume that the Bush tax cuts will expire at the end of 2012.

This means that the tax cuts will not count as savings with regard to discretionary spending. In other words, the tax cuts expiring won’t give anybody any credit toward anything except a tax increase.

If those tax cuts were extended, the Congressional Budget Office would treat those tax cuts as if they added $5 trillion more to the national debt. In reality, these tax cuts would actually generate new revenue by leaving the money in the hands of the American people who would spend, save and invest it.

The tax cuts were initiated after 9/11 to bolster confidence in the economy by getting the money moving again and raising the revenue rather than raising the taxes.

From 2001 to 2003 President Bush lowered the lowest bracket from 15% down to 10% and raised the threshold from about $46,000 to $58,000 before you jumped from a 15% bracket up to a 25% bracket. By every objective measurement, during this time the government raised more tax revenue that if they had kept the tax rates high and raised taxes further.

When these Bush tax cuts expire, taxes will go up and it will hinder the economy rather than stimulate it.

The White House sees the expiration of these Bush era tax cuts as a powerful tool to influence congressional talks about deficit reduction measures. By threatening to veto any attempt to extend the tax cuts, especially for the wealthiest Americans, the president hopes to exert greater control over reforming the U.S. tax code in order to raise taxes on the rich.

The talk in Washington D.C. is to tax married couples making over $250,000 per year at a tax rate that’s nearly 20% higher than what they currently pay. Instead of being taxed at 43% their tax rate will shoot up to 62.5%.

Even single tax filers are wearing a target with those who earn $125,000 or more a year will be facing possible tax rates of 60% or higher.

The philosophy of raising taxes by going after the rich out of a sense that “they can afford it” is going to cause the economy to take several steps backwards. Unemployment will not go down. We cannot spend our way out of this crisis.

Taxes Are Only One Third of The Coming Triple Whammy

Taxes are heading up. Even, if by some miracle, the Bush tax cuts are extended, there are still plenty of unfunded liabilities that will necessitate raising our taxes some other way. Medicare and Social Security alone account for nearly $110 trillion worth of obligations that are owed to their intended recipients.

The biggest dangers of the next decade are that taxes are going up, inflation will continue to rise because the government has been printing mass amounts of money, and market volatility will continue.

The specter of double digit inflation is a daunting one for those who remember the high inflation of the early 1980s. Yet during that era, by using Missed Fortune strategies, those who linked their returns to the things that inflate were earning 15.5% on conservative, tax-free investments.

When inflation and interest rates are low, these same strategies can have you earning rates of 8-9% tax-free.

Market uncertainty over the past decade has spooked those people who, starting in 2001, went nearly 3 years on a down market and were just about to break even when the bottom fell out again in 2008. Most investors have lost nearly 40% of their IRAs and 401(k)s and their confidence is shaken. The good news is that there’s a far better way to grow your serious money.

By taking ownership of your future, you can eliminate the triple whammy of the coming decade.

Is your serious money ready to weather the almost certain prospect of higher taxes? Could you maintain your standard of living when a 5% rate of inflation causes the cost of living to double every 15 years? Is your money positioned to remain safe when the market declines and to grow whenever the market grows?

Once you understand and live the Missed Fortune strategies, your answer will be a confident “Yes!”

Learn more by meeting with a Missed Fortune advisor.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg. Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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The Paradox of Increasing Tax Revenues By Lowering Taxes

August 7, 2011

Podcast: Download (22.9MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Free Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, August 9th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern). The topic is “True Asset and Wealth Optimization.” You’ll learn how to choose the right investments for liquidity, safety, rate of return and tax benefits.

Click Here to Register Now

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

The Secret To Increasing Tax Revenues: Lower the Tax Rates

In all the talk about the debt ceiling situation, there still isn’t broad recognition of the fact that our nation faces a spending problem rather than a revenue problem.

If the Bush tax cuts were extended, the Congressional Budget Office would still claim that’s costing up to $5 trillion. But tax cuts generate new revenue. The reason President Bush instituted the tax cuts in the first place was when the economy was in a tailspin following the 9/11 attacks.

Bush felt that it was better to raise the revenue that was being taxed rather than raising the taxes. When we face lean times, we tighten our belts and increase our income while decreasing our outgo.

Government always seems to be the last ones to cut back on spending in difficult times.

After 9/11 President Bush realized that the best thing to raise tax revenue for social programs was a tax decrease. He lowered the lowest bracket from 15% to 10% and he raised the threshold from about $46,000 to $57,000 before you jumped from a 15% bracket to a 28% bracket.

By all accounts, the government raised more tax revenue by getting cash flowing than if they had kept taxes high and raised them further.

When the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of 2012, higher taxes are going to hinder growth rather than help it.

The White House has one important tool to influence Congress on budget matters, and that’s the prospect of extending the Bush tax cuts beyond next year. There’s already a lot of talk about “going after the rich” in Washington D.C. these days so higher taxes are looking very likely.

After $5 trillion of increased federal debt, the unemployment rate is still sitting above 9% despite all the stimulus spending that was supposed to put the economy back on track.

This won’t help the economy or unemployment.

The 3 Challenges Your Nest Egg Will Face In the Next Decade

One way or another we’re likely to see taxes go up. Even if the Bush tax cuts are extended, there are still over $110 trillion of unfunded liabilities like Social Security and Medicare.

When government needs more revenue, it’s a safe bet that they’ll be raising our taxes in any number of ways. If your retirement nest egg is tax-deferred, it’s highly likely that those higher tax rates will deplete your money faster than you can imagine.

But higher taxes are only one of the challenges we’re likely to face over the next decade.

Inflation is also likely to sneak up from it’s usual 3% to more like 5, 6, 7 or even 10% thanks to the government printing money virtually nonstop. Inflation will raise the cost of living and that too will increase the speed with which your retirement money is spent.

Market uncertainty is the third danger we face just like in the last decade where many people lost roughly 39% of the value of their IRAs and 401(k)s and still haven’t broken even. Even a million dollar nest egg isn’t going to cut it where we’re headed in this country.

The good news is that strategies exist that will allow you to take ownership of your future and eliminate the dangers of market volatility, inflation and higher taxes.

When your money accumulates in tax free vehicle that’s grandfathered into the IRS code, you don’t have to worry higher taxes eating up your nest egg. When you tie your return to those things that inflate during inflationary periods, your money continues to grow.

And when you position your serious money to grow when the market grows and to remain safe when the market falls, market volatility is no longer a threat to your wealth.

You have options when you understand these strategies.

Learn more by meeting with a Missed Fortune advisor.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg. Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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While the Government is Placing Band-Aids, We’re Throwing Lifelines

July 31, 2011

Podcast: Download (22.9MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Free Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, August 2nd at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern). The topic is “True Asset and Wealth Optimization.” You’ll learn how to choose the right investments for liquidity, safety, rate of return and tax benefits.

Click Here to Register Now

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

Debt Limit Increase: A Temporary Band-Aid

5 years ago the national debt was $9.3 trillion — about $90,000 for every taxpayer in America.

We’re now up to $14.3 trillion and rising — $143,000 for every taxpayer.

We don’t have a revenue problem in America; we have a spending problem.

Most Americans agree. A recent CNN poll showed that 66% of Americans support government spending cuts.

Raising our debt limit temporarily is just a Band-Aid.

We need a more fundamental and drastic approach to curing our financial woes.

A recent Forbes article reports:

“’Raising the debt ceiling and getting beyond Aug 2nd does not cure the main source of our problem,’ [said Lacy Hunt of Hoisington Investment Management]. The main problem is that the fiscal problems of the U.S. are enormous. Total federal debt is approaching 100% of gross domestic product, and the three biggest components of that debt will rise dramatically through the end of the decade. Social Security and Medicare can be reformed, but there is little the government can do about interest expense. Even if rates stay constant, Hunt said, interest expense will exceed defense spending by the end of the decade.”

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that interest on the debt is projected to be about 3.4% of GDP by 2021, up from 1.7% in 2001.

However, Forbes reports,

“the CBO only projects an increase in real, or after-inflation, interest rates to 3.1% from a current 1.8%. It also projects a steady decline in unemployment to around 5% and real wage growth of 1.4% a year or more. Relax those assumptions — particularly for wage growth, inflation and interest rates — and the government could get itself into a death spiral of rising interest rates and stagnant economic growth that will make the debt practically impossible to service.”

We need to cut taxes and spending and support entrepreneurs to get cash flowing again.

Cash Value Insurance: A Lifeline in a Sea of Market Uncertainty & Government Ignorance

While you can’t control what the government does, you can control your household finances.

Missed Fortune offers solutions.

During the last 4 years — the worst-performing years since the Great Depression — Missed Fortune clients are up at least 50%.

Those with $1 million or more in our products have doubled or even tripled their money in the last 10 years — and it’s completely tax-free.

They’ve averaged returns of between 7.2% and 9.6% the last 10 years, whereas most Americans are barely breaking even.

How have they done it? Through maximum-funded tax-advantaged cash value life insurance.

When structured as a superior capital accumulation tool, it can perform at an average cash-on-cash rate of return of more than 8%.

This one product can overcome taxes, inflation, market uncertainty by giving you safety of principal, an inflation hedge, and healthy tax-free growth.

Learn more by meeting with a Missed Fortune advisor.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg. Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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The Economic Realities That Can No Longer Be Ignored

July 10, 2011

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Free Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, July 12th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern). The topic is “True Asset and Wealth Optimization.” You’ll learn how to choose the right investments for liquidity, safety, rate of return and tax benefits.

Click Here to Register Now

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

Americans Aren’t Feeling So Optimistic These Days

U.S. voters continue to be largely pessimistic about the country’s future. We need to be able to think about a bigger and brighter future, but we’re not feeling that way. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of likely voters shows that 46% of those surveyed think America’s best days are in the past.

37% say they believe that America’s best days are still ahead. And 16% say they’re not sure.

Optimism about the nation’s future has generally been in the mid to high 3os for most of the Obama presidency. With a number of economic indicators hitting new lows in recent days, it’s not surprising that voters continue to favor a government with less services and lower taxes.

65% say they’d favor a smaller government over one with more services and higher taxes.

David Walker, the former comptroller for the General Accountability Office, recently resigned because he was not allowed to tell the American public the truth about the escalating national debt. In 2007 it was at $9 trillion and he said we had nearly $63 trillion in unfunded liabilities including Medicare and Social Security that we don’t have money in our coffers to pay.

In October 2009 our government was operating totally in the red for nearly a year and three months until January of 2011 when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the government was finally solvent enough to cover what it was paying out in benefits again.

Both parties say we need to cut at least $4 trillion over the next 10 years, but David Walker says that more will be required to keep the government solvent.

He says we can’t do that without both spending cuts and tax increases. Walker says first we’ll need to make several billion dollars in cuts immediately in discretionary spending. Next he says we’ll need to cut $100 billion in the 2012-2013 budget.

The third and final part of his debt remedy deal is to institute budget controls with pay-as-you-go requirements, annual spending caps and specific debt to GDP targets. If the targets aren’t hit by late 2013, buzzers would sound, lights would flash and the deal would trigger automatic draconian spending cuts and higher taxes.

Every tax payer in this country should be paying very close attention. An economic reality check is getting closer.

What To Expect In the Next Decade

Dave Ramsey recently pointed out that Americans now have more in their 401(k) than they did in October of 2007 when everything fell apart. There are actually two reasons for that.

Number one, people have added money to their 401(k) over the past 4 years. Secondly, if they didn’t add money and their 401(k) was linked to the S&P 500 Index, for instance, over the past 10 years you’ve barely made 2.99% by the end of first quarter 2011.

Contrast that with people who’ve followed the Missed Fortune strategies during this last ten years experienced predictable, safe tax-free growth of 7.23% growth and have doubled their money from where they started.

Market uncertainty will be a part of the next decade as well. Wall Street has lost more than 45% of the typical investor’s money twice in the last decade. The typical equity mutual fund investor has only averaged a 3.83% return for the past 8 years.

There is a much better way to put your serious money to work.

With a Missed Fortune strategy like Indexing, you don’t lose a dime when the market goes down and you start earning again the second the market goes up. With a Missed Fortune strategy like linking your returns to those things that inflate, inflation helps you rather than hurts you.

And with the Missed Fortune strategy of accumulating your money in a tax free vehicle, you avoid the higher taxes that are surely on the way.

Learn how to put these strategies to work for you. Talk to a Missed Fortune advisor today.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg. Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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The U.S. Economy: Living On Borrowed Money

June 26, 2011

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Free Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, June 28th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern). The topic is “True Asset and Wealth Optimization.” You’ll learn how to choose the right investments for liquidity, safety, rate of return and tax benefits.

Click Here to Register Now

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

Watching Government Paint Itself Into a Corner

A recent USA Today article by Richard Wolf claims that “In 7 Weeks U.S. Could Run Out Of Borrowed Money”.

Here are the highlights: Exactly one month ago, the Treasury Dept. began issuing IOUs rather than bonds to some government pension funds. That allowed for continued auctions of so-called “risk free” treasury bonds until August 2nd of this year.

Unless Congress acts by then, the worlds richest nation–unable to borrow $4 billion a day to pay its bills–would risk default. Or would it?

Wolf says to hear Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner tell it, interest rates would spike, stock and home values would sink, savings and investment would dry up and jobs would disappear. Businesses would fail and everything from tax refunds to troops salaries would go unpaid.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says that it would “lead to severe disruptions in financial markets, lower credit ratings and damage to the dollar and treasury securities”.

On the other side, others say the doomsday scenarios are hogwash. Senator Pat Toomy of Pennsylvania says it would take a simple law outlining who gets paid first when the government can no longer borrow 41 cents of every dollar it spends.

As long as bond holders collect interest on time, there would be no default. Just spending cuts and furloughing federal workers or delaying welfare payments.

No one expects something so drastic to happen, but Congress and the White House haven’t found a way to avoid it. We have a serious situation in our country.

A recent article identifies 5 items that could prevent a recovery from taking hold:

1. An oil supply squeeze
2. The Euro-zone question
3. State and local debt woes
4. Another housing slump
5. A sharp slowdown in Asia

So What Can You Do?

If you’re experiencing real heartburn over the prospect of the triple whammy we’re facing over the next 10 years it’s time to pay close attention.

3 of the biggest dangers we’re facing in the coming decade are taxes going up, inflation devaluing the dollar and continuing market uncertainty.

Missed Fortune indexing strategies will teach you how to protect yourself so if the economy goes down, you don’t lose money. You may not make much, but you will not lose and that equals a win in these times. Plus the second the market turns around, you’ll be making money again.

Wall Street has already lost more than 45% of the typical investor’s money twice in the past 10 years. You cannot expose your money to that type of risk.

Those who’ve followed the Missed Fortune strategies have predictably earned a rate of return of 7-8% that has effectively doubled their money every 9 or 10 years. And they’ve been doing it consistently for the past 4 decades.

Compare that to the typical equity mutual fund investor who has only managed an average return of 3.83% annually for the past 20 years. They’ve barely outpaced inflation by a single percent. And inflation is going up.

You can protect yourself by accumulating your money in vehicles that are tax free, by linking your returns to those things that inflate when we have inflation. And finally, you position your serious money so that you don’t lose money when the market goes down and you start earning again the second it goes up.

Learn how to put the Missed Fortune strategies to work for you. Talk to a Missed Fortune advisor today.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg. Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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What You Should Know About the Next Decade

June 19, 2011

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Free Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, June 21st at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern). The topic is “True Asset and Wealth Optimization.” You’ll learn how to choose the right investments for liquidity, safety, rate of return and tax benefits.

Click Here to Register Now

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

The Next 10 Years Should Be Interesting

Where market uncertainty was a hallmark of the Lost Decade, the next 10 years have potential to be much more interesting.

Most Americans who lost money in their IRAs and 401(k)s over the past few years are just now starting to get back to where they were 10 years ago.

Now we’re facing a triple whammy of higher taxes, inflation and market volatility that could prove very challenging for those who fail to position their money properly.

People who’ve learned the Missed Fortune strategies and followed them, have predictably been able to double or nearly triple what they had 10 years ago. Not only did they do it during the biggest downturn since the Great Depression, they’ve done it tax free.

This is important because with the Bush tax cuts expiring in 2012 and the prospect of more tax hikes on the way, you’ll need all the tax protection you can get.

Government spending continues at a breakneck pace and Congress is looking to raise taxes to meet their funding needs. Taxes are going up. Count on it.

In addition to raising taxes, the printing of money to cover the payment of government obligations is setting the stage for increased inflation.

Social Security has a $63 trillion dollar deficit owing that it has promised to pay out to recipients in future benefits.

It’s time you knew what you don’t know about keeping your fortune from slipping through your fingers.

31 FLAVORS of How People Miss Out on Fortunes

FLAVORS is an acronym that stands for Fortunes Lost Amid Valid Optimization & Reallocation Strategies.

These are rules and strategies that even seasoned tax attorneys and accountants don’t know until they’re shown.

People miss out on fortunes because they choose short term investments for long range goals to fund their retirement.

They put their money into what are termed “crawl investments” that offer too low a rate of return compared to the rate of inflation. They miss out on money that could be made by linking their returns to those thing that inflate.

Some put money into “walking investments” where they place their money in retirement vehicles that are tax deferred rather than tax free. This means that they pay through the nose in taxes when they start to withdraw funds from their IRAs & 401(k)s.

If you understand how money works you can put the equity in your real estate to work to accumulate, over a 30 year period, a huge windfall for your retirement.

By empowering your wealth, you learn how money works, you employ a system of accountability and responsibility and you learn better ways to grow your money tax free.

Learn how to time the markets, how to do a strategic roll-out that protects your principal with a predictable rate of return that accumulates tax free. You can learn the power of compound interest and so much much more in the Missed Fortune strategies.

It won’t just benefit you, this knowledge will also bless your family when your fortune transfers to them when you’re gone.

Talk to a Missed Fortune advisor today.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg. Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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Taking On Debt Like a Ship Taking On Water

June 12, 2011

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Free Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, May 31st at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern). The topic is “True Asset and Wealth Optimization.” You’ll learn how to choose the right investments for liquidity, safety, rate of return and tax benefits.

Click Here to Register Now

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

Like a Ship Taking On Water

Our national ship is taking on a lot of water in the form of debt. It’s easy to see the waterline is rising. This is due to misguided management in the financial industry coupled with addictive government deficit spending.

National and corporate leaders have done what every Ponzi scheme architect has done by bringing in new money to cover for old promises.

Take Social Security for example. If this program didn’t bring in new money to cover current recipients income it would quickly go bankrupt.

Baby boomers are starting to retire and the workforce is shrinking. When Social Security was started, there were 15 workers contributing for every one recipient. But those numbers have shifted to where we now have 3 or 4 workers for every recipient of Social Security.

It won’t be long before we’re down to 2 workers for every recipient and government will have to take more and more of our income to pay out what it has promised.

Social Security debt is at $62 trillion. To get the sense of how much money that is, $1 trillion dollar bills lined up end to end would reach from here to the moon and back 200 times.

This means that, after adjusting for inflation, the federal government has obligated itself to paying more than $100 trillion that it has not collected from by withholding from American workers paychecks.

The government doesn’t have the money to cover its expenses and the only way it can get it is by withdrawing money from our paychecks each month or by printing more money–causing inflation.

The bottom line is we’re going to have more and more people in the wagon and fewer and fewer workers pulling.

The day of reckoning could come as soon as the next 10-15 years. Or it could be partially happening now.

The government has already been collecting less in Social Security than it has been paying from October of 2009 to January of 2011.

If solvency is defined as barely bringing in enough to cover what is paid out, we’re in big trouble.

More Trouble On the Horizon

Medicare is six time larger in terms of unfunded obligations according to former U.S. Accountability Office comptroller David Walker.

With current figures it would require $700,000 from every full time working individual in America in order to cover the huge social security and medicare liability.

The U.S. national debt is over $14.3 trillion and the interest alone accrues at just under 41 billion dollars an hour.

In an article outlining 3 ways your Social Security payments are already being cut by Alicia Manelle says, “Lost in the debate is the fact that even under current law, Social Security will provide less retirement income relative to previous earnings than it does today.”

Social Security may no longer be the mainstay of the retirement system for many people.

There are 3 main issues that are fast approaching.

1. The retirement age is going to be extended from 65 to 67 depending upon when you turn 65.

2. The increase in Medicare premiums from 5% to 12%.

3. The taxation of Social Security benefits.

These dangers should be clear to you by now.

Taxes are going to go up. Inflation will decrease the purchasing power of the dollar. And market volatility will continue for the foreseeable future.

Those who have learned and applied Missed Fortune Strategies have learned how to protect their serious retirement money from rising taxes, inflation and market uncertainty.

They can sleep soundly at night knowing that their money is accumulating tax free, not tax deferred. Their returns are linked to those things that inflate so inflation becomes a help and not a hindrance.

They’ve repositioned their serious cash to participate in any upside the market may experience without risking their principal in the market.

The Missed Fortune strategies have worked for them for nearly 3 decades. They will work for you. Contact a Missed Fortune advisor to learn how.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg. Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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The Warning Signs Are Pointing to Higher Taxes

May 29, 2011

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Free Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, May 31st at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern). The topic is “True Asset and Wealth Optimization.” You’ll learn how to choose the right investments for liquidity, safety, rate of return and tax benefits.

Click Here to Register Now

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

For Politicians It’s All About Raising Taxes

In recent editorial titled “For Democrats It’s all about tax hikes” it’s abundantly clear where politicians stand on the issue of taxes.

The picture isn’t pretty. Taxes will be going up.

Democrats have floated a plan for a tax on millionaires to force Republicans to accept other tax increases. They’ve tried to hike oil company taxes by more than $2 billion per year even though oil company profits are around 6 or 7 cents per dollar.

On issue after issue Republicans are putting forth serious, politically risky solutions while Democrats are playing class warfare and stoke public fear.

Reining in out of control government spending is only way to address the nation’s gargantuan debt.

We have increased the national debt from $9 trillion to $14.3 trillion in just the last 5 years. Raising taxes is the favored solution to many Democratic leaders.

If we took every dime about $250,000 that anyone earns in this country, it would pay for roughly 4.5 months of the president’s proposed annual budget.

As consumers we have to tighten our belts when we have to stay within our budgets. Government just wants to keep feeding its spending problem.

Taxes will be going up. Inflation is just around the corner thanks to government printing more and more money to cover their deficits. And market uncertainty and volatility has been a fact of life for nearly a decade now.

You Wouldn’t Ignore Cancer Would You?

An article by Walter Brandimarte notes that investors have averted a broad sell-off by diving into shares of companies that are less vulnerable to the economic cycle.

These include well known defensive sectors like utilities, household products and large cap companies with steady earnings performance. With the end of the Fed’s easy money policies just around the corner, investors are becoming more sensitive to risk in general.

There are better ways to safely invest, to create greater liquidity, safety of principal and to earn a predictable rate of return that’s tax free.

We’re looking at the likelihood of higher taxes, inflation and continuing market uncertainty. It’s essential that you understand how to protect yourself against the triple whammy.

Now is the time to implement the strategies that will allow you to accumulate your money tax free now and in the future under sections of the IRS code that have been grandfathered for decades.

If we have inflation you’ll need the strategies that help rather than hinder you by linking your returns to those things that inflate.

Finally, you must protect yourself so that if the market goes down you not only don’t lose any money, but your money grows as the market grows.

Putting your head in the sand and thinking you’ll deal with taxes on your 401(k)s and IRAs down the road is highly risky. It’s like putting off dealing with a malignant tumor and hoping it won’t be so bad down the road.

Dealing with the problem today makes more sense than waiting for that tax liability to continue to grow.

It may be wise to get your money out of your 401(k)s and IRAs now and to do a strategic rollover into an environment that’s tax free from this day forward.

Indexing strategies can help you safely and predictably double your money tax free without putting it at risk in the market.

Learn how to put these strategies to work for your serious money by contacting a Missed Fortune advisor today.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg. Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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Finding Sure Footing On a Slippery Slope

May 22, 2011

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Free Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, April 26th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern). The topic is “True Asset and Wealth Optimization.” You’ll learn how to choose the right investments for liquidity, safety, rate of return and tax benefits.

Click Here to Register Now

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

Standing On the Slippery Slope

A recent article by Bill Spetrino of the Money News Financial Brain Trust talks about the Big oil company tax breaks.

Senate leader Harry Reid met with major oil company CEOs to discuss ending government oil subsidies. In reality, it’s grandstanding and a way for Congress to distract the American people from the real source of America’s gigantic deficit–out of control spending.

In 2009 the Democratic party had a filibuster-proof majority in Congress and chose not to end the oil subsidies. Yet now the Senate is blaming the oil companies for the high price of gas.

Did you realize that oil companies make about 7 cents per gallon while state and federal governments make about 50 cents per gallon. Is it really the oil companies that are being unfair?

So who owns these big oil companies? The oil industry is only owned about 1.5% by upper management. The bulk of their ownership is virtually every major pension fund that owns oil company stock.

The profit margin for oil companies between 2007-2010 averaged around 6.75% but that pales in comparison to profit margins in virtually every other industry.

Technology has a 30% profit margin by comparison.

America wasn’t built on demonizing successful businesses and high earning people.

So Where Exactly Will the Government Get Its Money?

The U.S. Treasury is now planning to tap pensions to help fund government. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has warned for months that the government would soon hit its $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.

He will begin to borrow from retirement funds, starting with federal workers, but this maneuver won’t buy more than just a few months of time.

Raising taxes will hurt our economy and hurt our ability to create jobs according to a handful of Republican and Democratic leaders alike. But the majority in Congress still isn’t listening.

The government needs roughly $125 billion more per month than it takes in each month just to cover its obligations. This makes any special measures less effective than they were in the past.

As families we tighten our belts and spend less when our outgo exceeds our income. But Congress is flirting with defaulting on the federal debt.

A default could increase borrowing costs for everyone as well as impacting job creation and investment throughout the economy.

The interest on the federal debt two years ago was $41 million an hour.

Taxes will be going up. Inflation is around the corner due to the government printing so much money to cover its spending.

The market volatility of the last decade has taken a toll on people who had their money in the market.

People who’ve implemented the Missed Fortune strategies are in the best position to stand their ground on a slippery economic slope.

They’ve learned how too grow their money tax free and to enjoy it tax free when they start to access it. They’re linking their returns to those things that inflate when there’s inflation. And they’re indexing their money to grow when the economy grows without risking it when the economy goes down.

These strategies are proven and have been working for years for those wise enough to use them.

It’s not too late to learn and implement these strategies to secure your financial footing. Visit with a Missed Fortune advisor and learn how.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg. Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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A Lifeboat for Your Financial Future

May 15, 2011

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Free Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, April 26th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern). The topic is “True Asset and Wealth Optimization.” You’ll learn how to choose the right investments for liquidity, safety, rate of return and tax benefits.

Click Here to Register Now

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

Changing How Congress Is Elected & Represents Us

In 1971,the 26th Amendment granting the right to vote to 18 year olds only took 3 months to ratify because the people wanted it.

Seven of the 27 amendments the Bill of Rights only took a year or less to ratify because of public pressure.

The proposed Congressional Reform Act of 2011 includes term limits, denies tenure and pensions, requires Congress to participate in Social Security, and requires Congress to purchase its own retirement plan.

It also takes away Congressional health insurance and requires them to purchase their own. Congress can no longer vote themselves a pay raise and must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

The Act also states that all contracts with existing or past congressmen will be null and void effective January 1, 2012. Is this what it will take to get Congress to represent us and not just their own interests?

The Founders envisioned citizen legislators not professional politicians.

It took us 100 years to accumulate 9 trillion dollars in debt and in the last 5 years Congress has grown the debt to nearly 14 trillion dollars.

How Congress is Affecting Your Money

The Washington Examiner recently published an article saying that Senate Democrats are preparing a stealth budget bill to derail the Ryan Budget that passed the House overwhelmingly in April.

The Senate Democrats say that the Ryan budget cuts too much spending and doesn’t raise taxes enough.

Spending cuts are so small in comparison to the kind of cuts that need to take place that they amount to virtually nothing. We need to cut trillions–not just billions.

With this kind of spending, it’s clear that taxes will be increasing. Even if the Bush tax cuts are allowed to simply expire, it will still be a huge tax increase. The triple whammy we face in the next decade includes market volatility, higher taxes and growing inflation.

Congress needs to understand that raising taxes in a recession is the kiss of death for businesses. It could lead to a true double dip recession.

Instead of raising taxes, we need to raise the revenue that’s being taxed and that’s been proven to work as in the Bush tax cuts that followed 9/11. We have a serious debt problem and Congress is refusing to take the steps that would address the spending crisis.

The Ship Continues Sinking

Fortunately, there is a lifeboat for those who are willing to take advantage of the year and a half window that remains to reposition your money into investments that accumulate tax free instead of tax deferred.

Let’s say you invested $100,000 dollars and you end up tripling your money in 10 years. Down the road you’d have to pay 1/3 of that in taxes then your actual money is only $200,000.

If taxes increase to 50% as the Congressional Budget Office is predicting they will by 2021, your nest egg is going to run dry in an amazingly short time.

You need a hedge against inflation that ties your rate of return to those things that inflate so you continue to earn when inflation comes.

You need to index your money in such a way that your money grows when the market grows yet doesn’t lose money when the market decreases.

Meet with a Missed Fortune advisor and learn the strategies that will get your money safely aboard the lifeboat.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg. Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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